


Something Blue

by GalaxyOwl13



Series: Moments and Memories [2]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Backstory, Doctor Who Feels, Episode: s08e02 Into the Dalek, Family, Family Dynamics, Family Feels, Friendship, Gen, Headcanon, One Shot, Soldiers, Wordcount: 1.000-3.000, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:40:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26258809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxyOwl13/pseuds/GalaxyOwl13
Summary: Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Journey Blue, in four short scenes.
Series: Moments and Memories [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1906012
Kudos: 3





	Something Blue

**Author's Note:**

> National Blueberry Popsicle Day – Write about something blue

Something Old

The first time Journey held a gun, she was seven years old. It was heavy in her arms, and she had to strain to keep it up.

“Good girl,” said her Uncle Morgan. Journey smiled at the praise, her eyes going wide as she examined the weapon. It was a dull grey, covered in scuff marks and dents. The end had turned nearly black with all the energy bolts it had fired. “You’re already so strong. I’m sure you’ll make a great soldier.”

“Soldier?” Journey asked. She didn’t want to be a soldier. She wanted to be a scientist, wanted to explore the universe and discover its secrets. As long as she could remember, she had lived up to her name. Always determined to travel the world, to journey through space and see everything in existence.

“Of course,” Uncle Morgan said, his eyes serious. Journey didn’t like that. Uncle Morgan’s eyes had always sparkled with laughter, before he had gone away to fight in the war. Before Journey’s mother had gone with him and never come back.

“Can I hold it?” Kai asked, nearly bouncing up and down. He was smiling, eagerly leaning towards the metal beast Journey held in her hands. “Can I, Uncle Morgan, can I?”

“It’s your sister’s turn right now,” Uncle Morgan reminded him.

Journey didn’t want it to be her turn. The weight of the gun pulled her down, and she didn’t like how it looked. “Take it,” she told her brother, heaving the weapon into his arms. “I don’t want it.” He grinned at her, running a hand along the barrel.

“When you’re fighting the Daleks, your gun will be your best friend,” Uncle Morgan said. “You’ll have to know it inside out, trust it with your life.”

“Kai’s my best friend,” Journey said petulantly. “And I’m not going to be a soldier.”

“We’re at war,” Uncle Morgan said. “We need everyone we can fighting the Daleks.”

“I’ll fight the Daleks a different way,” Journey said. “I’ll be a scientist like Mommy was. I’ll build, I’ll build spaceships. Yeah, I’ll do that. And then we’ll all go see the stars. You and me and Kai. And you can bring your best friend if you want.” She eyed the gun with distrust.

“Your mother was a soldier,” Uncle Morgan told her. “When the war got bad, she left to do her duty.”

“She left us,” Journey said.

“She had to.” Kai carefully placed the gun back in Journey’s arms, and she sagged under the weight of the hard metal. “Right Uncle? That’s what she said. She had to do it.”

“We all have an obligation to fight the Daleks,” Uncle Morgan said. “To protect our home. To protect our people.” Journey tried to hand the gun over to him, but he didn’t take it. “Do you know who had this gun before me?” Journey shook her head. “It was your mother’s. She had it longer than you’ve been alive.”

“Really?” Kai asked.

“Really. This gun protects me,” Uncle Morgan told her as she struggled to hold up the weapon. “And I protect it. I don’t drop it, and I don’t run. And one day, it will be yours. When you’re old enough to fight. This old gun has stood by our family for a long time. It’ll stand by you when it’s your turn.”

“I don’t want to be a soldier,” Journey repeated.

“Tough luck,” Uncle Morgan told her. “We all are, when there’s a war on.”

* * *

Something New

Journey fingered her shining metal badge nervously. In her lap sat her gun, polished and ready for action. “It’s going to be fine,” she told herself quietly.

“You worried?” Kai asked from across her. They were on a small transport, strapped into harnesses that could be undone at a moment’s notice. Soon, they’d be in a war zone, driving the Daleks off of the medical ship Aristotle.

“Yeah,” Journey admitted.

“It’s going to be fine,” Kai said. “You’re amazing at this. Best aim I’ve ever seen.”

Journey laughed. “Better than yours, at least.”

“I prefer space fighters than guns, yeah.”

Sighing, Journey let her hand fall away from the badge that signified her rank and land on her gun. It wasn’t her mothers, the one that had been promised to her years ago—her uncle still held that, thank the stars. But it was a good, serviceable gun, that shot as straight as could be expected and almost felt comfortable in her hand.

“They’re just Daleks,” Kai said suddenly.

“What?” Journey asked.

“They’re only Daleks. It’s nothing like killing a person.”

“It’s not really the morality I’m worried about,” Journey said, running a hand through her close-cropped hair. “More the fact that they’re shooting back at me.”

“Oh,” Kai said sheepishly.

“Only you would worry about whether shooting a Dalek is good.”

“I used to want to fight when I was little,” Kai said. “But then I grew out of it. War’s dangerous. Killing isn’t fun, even if it’s morally justified. Even if your enemy doesn’t feel emotion. You were always the one that wanted to run away from the stars.”

“I grew out of it,” Journey echoed. She felt nauseous, though. Her knees were so week that she was certain standing up would cause her to topple to the ground. In only a few hours, she would be fighting a war. But she had already been fighting it for a long time. She had always been a soldier, since before she could remember. In a war, everyone was one.

“Look,” one of the other passengers said, a girl with long, black hair tied up in a ponytail. She was in her late teens, by the look of her, with a long white scar running from one temple down to the other cheek. She was twisted around, her straps unbuckled.

“Strap back in, soldier,” said an older woman. “We could be attacked at any moment.”

“No, really,” said the girl. “Look.” She pointed over her shoulder at the window. One by one, the others unbuckled, crowding around to see what she was staring at. For a moment, they didn’t look like soldiers, just teenagers—because that’s what most of them were, really—looking out at the universe in wonder.

Against the dark, star-spangled sky was a disk of beautifully colored dust, swirling around in space. And in the center was a glowing sphere of red light—a star being born.

“It’s amazing,” Journey said, blinking. She felt her brother take her hand, his squeeze spreading warmth through her whole body.

“Are you still nervous?” He asked.

Journey watched in wonder as the newborn star glowed, spreading light through the universe. Right now, she wasn’t a soldier. Right now, she was Journey Blue, discovering the secrets of the stars with her brother.

“Yeah,” she whispered to him, her eyes tearing up.

“Me too,” he whispered back.

* * *

Something Borrowed

“Ready?” Kai asked as they stood in the hanger. In front of them was the ship they’d be flying for today’s mission.

“Yeah,” Journey said. “I’ve got my gun, my courage, my jacket—my jacket! I forgot it on the Aristotle.”

“Give me a second,” Kai said, grabbing his pack from the man who had been taking it towards the storage room and pulling out a spare jacket. “You can have mine.” He handed it to her, and Journey took it. It smelled like him, which meant he hadn’t washed it since their last mission. She wrinkled her nose in disgust, but put it on.

“We’re really not supposed to do this,” she said.

Kai smiled. “You’re far too eager to follow orders. I thought you didn’t want to be a soldier?”

“I am one, whether I like it or not,” Journey said.

“Look at the name, soldier,” Kai said.

Journey took off the jacket, reading the name on the inside. “Lieutenant Blue.”

“Exactly,” Kai nodded. Journey laughed, punching him in the shoulder. “Now are you ready?”

“Of course.”

Their mission was supposed to be short, there and back, pick up some data from one of the other ships. But things never go as planned, and they ended up drawing fire from the Dalek fleet. “Almost there!” Journey told Kai, swerving around yet another bolt of energy.

“Great!” Kai said. “Amazing, we’ve almost let the Daleks right to the Aristotle’s hiding place!”

“Shut it!” Journey said, banking up to avoid an asteroid. She risked a short break to press a button on the console, activating the comm system. “Aristotle, this is Wasp Delta, we’re currently under fire. Do we return to base? Over.”

She dove into a corkscrew, watching as two Dalek ships slammed into each other, their shots going wild.

“Nice!” Kai shouted over the rolling of the engines.

“Aristotle, do you read me? Over.” A shot skimmed their left wing, and Kai pitched forwards, slamming his head into the dashboard.

“Kai!” Journey shouted. A second shot landed in the wing while she was distracted, and she cursed as the fighter spiraled out of control. Glancing over at Kai, she saw that he was barely conscious. Outside, the darkness was filled with bolts of energy, racing towards her and her brother. She had to get back to the Aristotle, and fast.

“Aristotle, this is Wasp Delta, do you hear me?” She said. “Stay with me, Kai. Stay with me, please.” He couldn’t die. He just couldn’t. Fire lit across her windshield as the fighter was struck again, rocking her to the side.

“Aristotle!” Journey yelled, panic filling her voice. “We’ve been hit. Major damage. Aristotle!” She swerved away to avoid yet another asteroid. The Dalek saucer was gaining on her, and she knew she couldn’t outrun it. This was the end. Suddenly, she felt very, very cold. Even the warmth of the jacket she had borrowed from her brother couldn’t console her. He was dying, and she was going to die too. They would burn together, for a few short moments. And then they’d be dead.

“Aristotle!” She yelled. “The enemy are right on top of us!” A bolt of energy hit the fighter head on and she lost control.

Kai was slumped over the dashboard, dead or dying. It didn’t matter. Journey only had seconds before it was all over. Everything was burning and dying and her jacket smelled like Kai. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, and she wasn’t sure to whom she was apologizing.

* * *

Something Blue

Journey stood outside the Doctor’s box—no, spaceship. It was a royal blue, like her name, the most beautiful color she had ever seen. Her jacket, loose and comforting around her shoulders, gave her the courage to speak. “Doctor,” she pleaded. “Take me with you.” This was her chance. She knew it. This was when she was going to see the stars. Not as a soldier, but as the traveler. This was her chance to escape the never-ending war against the Daleks.

Her mother had told her that they were going to see the universe together, before she had gone off to war. Journey had lost hope when she didn’t come back. But now…now she had an opportunity, in the form of the wonderful blue box that contained multitudes.

“I think you’re probably nice,” said the Doctor, and right away Journey knew something was wrong. “Underneath it all, I think you’re kind and you’re definitely brave. I just wish you hadn’t been a soldier.”

“I wish so too,” Journey said to herself as she watched the blue box fade away along with her hopes and dreams. “I wish so too.”


End file.
